The invention relates to an adhesive joint which connects a body made of a first material to a plastic body by means of an adhesive layer. The adhesive layer has a multi-layered structure which is composed of a flexible core layer made of acrylate and outer layers made of hot-melt adhesive which respectively adjoin the first body and the plastic body. The invention further relates to a card configuration using such an adhesive joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,705 (cf. German patent DE 44 41 931 C1) discloses an adhesive joint by which a semiconductor module is connected to a chip card or smart card element. The semiconductor module comprises a carrying element, a so-called lead frame, to which a semiconductor chip is attached. Contacts on the semiconductor chip are attached to the lead frame by means of bonding. The lead frame is connected to the card element by an adhesive joint. The adhesive joint comprises a multi-layered adhesive which has a flexible middle layer bonded to the two adherend elements, which comprise on the one hand the lead frame and on the other hand the card element, via an outer layer. These outer layers advantageously comprise in turn a hot-melt adhesive. A disadvantage of that configuration is that it does not exhibit adequate durability to, say, bending stress in a smart card, even though the adhesive joint is flexible.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an adhesive joint and a smart card configuration, comprising a semiconductor module and a card element which are joined together by an adhesive joint, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which exhibits improved durability.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, an adhesive joint assembly connecting a body made of a first material to a plastic body, comprising:
a multi-layer adhesive laminate layer disposed between and adhesively joining a first body of a first material and a plastic body;
the laminate layer being formed of a flexible core layer made of acrylate, outer layers made of hot-melt adhesive respectively adjoining the first body and the plastic body, and a transitional layer respectively disposed between the outer layers and the core layer.
In this way, a durable and intimate bond between the hot-melt adhesive and the middle layer is ensured.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the transitional layer is a PET film. In the alternative, the transitional layer is a polycarbonate film.
With the above and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a smart card configuration, comprising:
a card element made of plastic;
a carrying element and a semiconductor chip supported on the carrying element; and
an adhesive joint assembly as described above disposed between and adhesively joining the carrying element to the card element.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the carrying element is electrically conductive.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the carrying element is composed of epoxy-resin glass-fiber-reinforced fabric.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the carrying element is composed of a ceramic material.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in an adhesive joint, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.